The Healing Way
The Healing Way "Decay" Another one went down, as Akinya gave him the final blow with his mace. For many hours he slaughtered the demons in Hellfire Peninsula, and yet their numbers didn't seem to become smaller. Monster after monster charged the shaman, as he came closer and closer to the portals from which the Legion's agents came. Some demons used their pure brute strength against Akinya, others resorted to demonic magic or blades. But Akinya didn't surrender. In his long life as a shaman he met many dangers, and the servants of the Burning Legion were one of them. Often enough he faced death, and each time he escaped it's grasp. Fear was an emotion that was unknown to this master of the Elements. At least now. "My death means nothing to the Legion! Others will replace me!" Funny talk. Yes, most of these abominations lacked self-esteem, which was replaced by their eternal loyalty to Pit Lords and other infernal masters. Their souls taken from them, they only had one goal in their existence: destroying those who are against the Burning Legion. For them, the world was divided in black and white. And from their point of view, they were white. Akinya didn't even notice when one of the demons hit him with his bone-like claws. The wound closed immediately, as the Elements protected their loyal friend. This, and many other abilities, saved Akinya often enough, and silently he thanked the spirits again. As he fought his way to the nearest portal, his mind wandered of into a distant past... "And so, nature gives and nature takes..." The old Orc moved his hand over the freshly-turned soil, and a few small flowers blossomed in a myriad of colors. The Orc turned around, and looked at his group of apprentices. Most of them were Orcs, but one of them was a little Troll. Bright red hair, and very large eyes made him stand out among the dark-haired Orcs. Also, his tusks were far too huge for his age, and so the other young shamans sometimes picked on him and called him "Boneface". The Troll boy ignored it, mostly. He was far too thrilled by the amazing feats of his teacher, and did his best to come close to his abilities. This fascination brought him always ahead of the other apprentices. "Akinya, you might show your brothers and sisters how exactly we can channel the spirits of the earth to heal the wounded land, and even living beings." The little Troll pointed at himself, and stared surprised at his teacher. The Orc smiled and nodded. Slowly, Akinya walked over to his master, standing in front of the other children. He coughed, and looked at the others. "Well...if ya want to use dem spirits to heal, ya first need to know da basic rule of using dem spirits..." "Which would be?" the old Orc asked "Well...ya do NOT force da spirit, but ya ask it kindly. We are not da masters of da spirits or Elements, but merely its students and children." The teacher nodded, and gestured his student to go on. "Once ya asked da spirits, and they told ya they help ya, ya need to point out where they need to help. Spirits are not stupid, but every direction makes their work easier!" Akinya felt very smart when he said this, but the rest of the class just giggled. The Troll got a bit nervous, but he continued. "Once da spirits know da place, they will start their work, and heal da target!" The Orc nodded, and clapped slowly. "Very nicely explained, Akinya. Now, you might give us a little example by regenerating the bark of the tree we sit under." Akinya looked at the tree, up to his highest branches, and smiled nervously. "M-Master Torka...in front of da whole class?" The Orc nodded. Slowly and anxious, Akinya walked over to the tree, and laid down his hands on the hard bark. He closed his eyes, and breathed in. Silently, he called the spirits. "Spirits of Earth, who know how deep da roots go. I ask ya for ya services..." He kept his eyes closed, as he felt the vibration inside his head. It was what he felt every time he channelled the will of the Elements. It didn't feel like a headache, more like when his mother hit him with the tenderizer when he did something bad. But soon, the vibration disappeared, and from afar, Akinya could hear silent whispers... "The young Troll calls upon the earth..." The whispers turned into clear voices, and in front of his inner eye, Akinya saw a shining, yellow light. "For a pup, the Troll speaks eloquent, yet powerful. The spirits will grant their services." Akinya smiled. "Thank ya, spirits." Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked at his hands. They felt warm now, and after a while they shined in bright, yellow light. It sounded like the tree moaned, before the crack in its bark slowly closed, and the light disappeared. First, it was quiet. Then, Master Torka and the rest of the class clapped excited, and Akinya turned around, smiling. They were proud of him, and Akinya was proud of himself... "No one taunts the Legion!" The huge demon charged at the shaman, who just stood his ground. Akinya grinned, and when the monster was close enough, he burned him with the electrical force of one of nature's most vicious weapon: lightnings. Even though the Peninsula was far too corrupted to have much connection with the Elements, Akinya could call up just enough power to defend himself against the Legion. However, he was now at his goal. A large device was in front of him, and green lightnings sparked around it. The last hours, Akinya had discovered the use of this device: it was one of the portals the Legion used to send more servants. And Akinya knew what to do. The officers at Thrallmar had showed him how to destroy these machines, and it wasn't all to hard. To be honest, even a murloc could do the job. Akinya grinned when he thought about it, but moved on to end his mission. A few mighty blows with his mace, and the sparks disappeared. The portal made a cracking sound, and then collapsed. A moment long did the shaman look at his work, but then realised that he had to leave. The sound of the collapsing portal could be heard at the other end of the Peninsula, and the demons would not be happy. On top of that, Akinya was weakened by the hours of fighting them. He focused his last remained energy into his transformation into a ghost-like wolf, and fled into the hills. The revenge of the Legion would be destructive, he knew. But he would not stop here. His work was not over, yet...